On Friday (“Strickland-CAIR Update: Reported Strickland Staffer Response”), I noted how Ted Strickland staffer “Charles” responded in a conversation with a constituent relayed to me by a trusted source. The constituent objected to the governor’s June 17 appearance at CAIR-Ohio’s annual banquet — a banquet also attended by CAIR’s national chairman of the board. In part, the constituent reported the following:

“Charles of his staff stated that he did a lot of research on CAIR and they were an organization that does a lot of good and no more terrorist than the Jewish Defense Fund or Dr. James Dobson.”

That trusted source also talked to Charles and his supervisor later that day. The source got an excuse that Homeland Security had been consulted about the appearance (irrelevant, in my view — DHS can’t tell a sitting governor where to appear and not appear), and little other consolation.

I meant to note this earlier, but I have to assume that Charles is really referring to the Jewish Defense League (JDL; web site; Wiki entry), as there is no “Jewish Defense Fund” I could locate.

Charles’ apparent use of JDL as a terrorism benchmark is odd, given that I don’t think that any state governor has attended or plans to attend a JDL banquet any time soon.

And Dobson? Evangelical Christians will hopefully take note of what one member of Minister Ted’s staff really thinks of one of their top leaders.

It’s a long read, but suffice it to say that Sperry connects enough dots to leave little doubt that there is both a mutually supportive AQ-CAIR relationship that even includes people associated with 9/11, and active CAIR links to Hamas terrorists.

Some snippets:

….. Federal investigators have learned that imam Mohammed El-Mezain — who goes on trial next month with one of CAIR’s founding board members — once lived in the same small Colorado apartment complex with another imam accused of preparing some of the hijackers for their “martyrdom” operation.

El-Mezain and imam Anwar Aulaqi later moved to San Diego, where Aulaqi held closed-door meetings with the al-Qaida hijackers.

….. In 1994 ….. CAIR was spun off from a known Hamas front called the Islamic Association for Palestine, which publishes Hamas communiques, distributes Hamas recruitment videos, and hosts conferences raising money for the Palestinian terrorist group, investigators say.

….. In October 1993, eight months before CAIR was formed, the FBI covertly recorded (CAIR co-founder Omar) Ahmad and other IAP officials professing their commitment to Hamas during a key meeting in Philadelphia.

….. CAIR has repeatedly denied any association with Hamas. But don’t believe it, says retired FBI special agent John Vincent, who has worked Hamas cases in Chicago, where IAP is based. “There is no question CAIR supports Hamas,” he told me.

He says the evidence clearly shows that the group has aided and protected the operations of groups supporting Hamas, such as IAP and the Holy Land Foundation. Vincent argues that CAIR has managed to hide its true agenda of supporting militant Islam under the “cover” of civil-rights advocacy.

….. The Santa Clara-based chapter of CAIR has also given funds to Muslims in Chechnya, tax records show, a hotbed of al-Qaida-affiliated terrorism. Chechen terrorists in 2004 slaughtered hundreds of children at a school in Russia.

“CAIR, its leaders, and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups,” asserts former FBI counterterrorism chief Steven Pomerantz.

CAIR’s status as an unindicted co-conspirator “as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas” was already well-known at the time Ted Strickland spoke at the organization’s banquet. That co-conspirator status didn’t deter the governor from attending, and it clearly didn’t impress staffer Charles. I have to wonder if even the AQ-CAIR ties described by Sperry will be enough to convince Charles to move CAIR above JDL and Dobson on the “no more terrorist than” list.

Oh, and does Charles speak for Ted? Unless we hear otherwise, why shouldn’t we assume that he does?

And maybe, just maybe, Ohio’s or the nation’s slumbering Old Media, which is still ignoring the story, might finally think it worth noting that the Buckeye State’s governor, according to CAIR’s press release, pointedly praised this terrorist-aiding organization when he spoke at its banquet:

“On behalf of all Ohioans, [my wife and I] appreciate your vision to promote justice and mutual understanding. We gather under CAIR-Ohio’s theme this year, ‘American Muslims: Connecting and Sharing,’ to do just that, to connect and share and get to know each other better.”

Don’t hold your breath, since Old Media appears to be reluctant to even acknowledge the ties between CAIR and Al Qaida. Google News searches on “CAIR Al-Qaeda” and “CAIR Al-Qaida” (without quotes, from June 17 until today at about noon; the presence or absence of the hyphen does not alter the results) contain no Old Media results. New York Times searches (CAIR Al-Qaida; CAIR Al-Qaeda; again, the hyphen’s presence or absence has no effect) come up empty.

ALSO:Here’s an interesting side trip (HT WLST via e-mail) exploring the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of “Rabbi” Arthur Waskow. The multitasking “rabbi” apparently doubles as a terrorism expert, as he “claims that there is no viable evidence that CAIR is associated with terrorism.”

Bob Evans and his wife Jewell were a couple of those amazing something-out-of-nothing folks of the free-enterprise system (what follows is from the company’s web site):

Bob Evans
Company Founder
1918-2007

Robert (Bob) Evans was born on May 30, 1918, in the village of Sugar Ridge, Ohio. The family moved to Gallia County in 1929, where young Bob and his two sisters could grow up in the company of their many aunts, uncles and cousins. Bob married Jewell Waters in June of 1940. They moved to Gallipolis where he bought a restaurant named the Malt Shop in the early 1940s. When Bob was inducted into the army, he sold his interest in the restaurant to a friend.

In 1945, when he returned from stateside service in World War II, Bob worked for family-operated Evans Packing Company, part of the time as a company officer. In 1946, he took the first step in what would later become Bob Evans Farms Inc. when he opened a 12-seat, 24-hour restaurant upriver from downtown Gallipolis. He still owned a farm in Bidwell and started the restaurant so he would have enough money to pay off his mortgage. As it turned out, that small restaurant would change Bob and Jewell Evanâ€™s life.

Because it was located next to the Gallipolis Terminal truck depot, Bob called his restaurant the Terminal Steak House and later changed the name to the Bob Evans Steak House. Jewell baked the pies for the restaurant. Her kitchen would later become the test site for every product Bob sold. The restaurant became one of the most popular places in Gallipolis. The Steak House was best known for its breakfasts, especially among hungry truck drivers, who were his steadiest customers.

Bob wasnâ€™t satisfied with the quality of the sausage he was able to purchase to serve in the Steak House, so he â€œset about trying to find a good recipe.â€ Bob remembered the quality sausage his family had made for years and he set about experimenting, with Jewell as a taster. He took the sausage to the Steak House customers and credits his truck-driving friends with â€œdoing my research for me.â€

Before long, the drivers and Gallipolis locals were asking to buy Bobâ€™s sausage to take home to family and friends. Bob decided to take time off from the Steak House to make sausage. He put it in 5- and 10-pound tubs and sold all he could make. Bob knew he was â€œonto somethingâ€ that could be even more successful than his restaurant business.

Starting with $1,000 ($500 of his and $500 from his father), three hogs, 40 pounds of black pepper, 50 pounds of sage and a few other ingredients, Bob started his sausage business from his farm in Bidwell in 1948. He expanded production in 1950 with a 28 X 40-foot pole barn building and one employee. Before long, Bob Evans was also selling sausage to groceries and meat markets and called it Bob Evans Farms Sausage.

Five friends and family members joined Bob as partners in 1953, incorporating as Bob Evans Farms Inc. By 1957, Bob Evans Sausage was being delivered by a fleet of 14 trucks to nearly 1,800 locations. The company opened a total of four sausage plants to keep up with demand.

In 1963, Bob Evans Farms Inc. â€œwent public,â€ listing on the Nasdaq with an original issue of 160,000 shares. Anyone who bought 1,000 shares at $9 per share then would have seen that stock multiply in value to more than $2 million today.

Bobâ€™s early television ads invited people to â€œcome on down and visit usâ€ at his Rio Grande farm. Before long, so many people took him up on the offer that it was hard for Bob and Jewell to accommodate them in their home. The company built a restaurant at the farm to provide a place for visitors to enjoy Bob Evans Farms products. In 1962, the Sausage Shop opened with four stools and six tables. Later known as Unit #1, the Sausage Shop has been enlarged three times.

In 1964, hog prices suddenly spiked upward and had alarming effects on the companyâ€™s profits. Bob Evans Farms made the decision to try something Bob already knew a little about â€“ the restaurant business. Even after prices came down and the sausage business was thriving again, the company wanted to avoid relying solely on that business and Bob and Jewel began working with a designer on the â€œlookâ€ for Bob Evans Restaurants. The well known â€œSteamboat Victorianâ€ style was chosen with the now-familiar red-and-white color scheme. Chillicothe was the location of the first of the â€œnewâ€ Bob Evans Restaurants. By the early 1970s, expansion was entirely in Ohio, but by the late 1970s, expansion into other states was underway. By 1983, the restaurant division could count 100 units.

Bob Evans stayed in his long-time positions as a director and president of the company until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1986.

The only person in Ohio to have been honored three times by the National Wildlife Federation, Bob spent almost 40 years preserving wildlife on his farm, Hidden Valley Ranch, and on the company-owned Bob Evans Farm. Bob received numerous awards for his work in conservation. In 1981, Bob was named â€œAmbassador of National Resourcesâ€ by the state of Ohio, recognizing him for â€œfaithful service and unselfish contributions to the wise management of Ohioâ€™s natural resources.â€ He also received the Ohio Wildlife Conservationist of the Year award in 1980.

In addition to being a strong supporter of the 4-H and FFA youth programs by supporting numerous county and state fairs, Bob was dedicated to helping young people at the university level. A former Ohio Board of Regents member, he worked with students at The Ohio State Universityâ€™s College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

In 1976, Bob Evans was named to the Ohio State Fair Hall of Fame. He was named to the 4-H Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1978, Bob received the Ohio Governorâ€™s Award, the most prestigious honor bestowed on an individual by the state of Ohio. An active farmer for much of his life, Bob had long supported land and wildlife conservation, as well as promoting progressive farming practices to help save the family farm. He promoted a study of new grasses to allow year-round grazing in Ohio, so that farmers wouldnâ€™t have to buy costly grain and silage for their livestock for the winter.

Bob called his 12-month grazing idea â€œone of the best things I ever did in my life.â€

Bob Evansâ€™ public concern was demonstrated by his community involvement. He served as honorary chairman of the Heart Fund Drive, fundraising chairman for the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Blindness and state chairman of Easter Seals.

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